19 September 2012

Squash or Stomp?

The French say *squash. We say stomp. Sounds about right; stomp seems to have violent undertones (in my opinion). Anyway, get this - a couple of weeks ago in Paris, the grape harvesting party of Mélac was held in the 11th arrondissement. And I do mean party! The restaurant set up 500 tables - c'est beaucoup! Food was plentiful, and the wine festally flowed. Besides sausage, ham, and cheese, seems that Parisians are quite keen on Aligot (ah-lee-go), which is made from mashed potatoes blended with butter, crème fraiche, crushed garlic, and melted cheese. After reading recipes, I'm quite keen on it aussi, and just might attempt to make it. I even found one for Aligot and Bacon Pizza! Back to the party. Kids get to squash the newly harvested grapes into giant buckets. I suppose adults can squash, as well. Wonder if the trottoirs (sidewalks) of Paris are covered in purple footprints...

In Austin, Water 2 Wine, a local winery, will be the place to be for a grape stompin' good time this weekend! I wonder if I can find anyone to go with me.. I shall be in the mood to smash some grapes come Friday. There will be merry music, awesome appetizers, and wonderful wine of course. The stomp and 2 t-shirts are free if you buy a batch of their premier wine. Batch? Is that the proper term? Doesn't really sound very wine-like to me. You can even put your footprints on the t-shirts! Ooh! Les t-shirts avec mes empreintes pourpre (purple footprints) will make fantastic Christmas gifts.